Finnair A340 USB/Power
 

Hi all,

I'm travelling to Osaka via Helsinki on Friday and the aircraft will be an A340. Finnair's website state each seat has a USB and power socket. Does any one know if the USB provides enough power to charge an iPhone, and if not, which type of power socket will the aircraft have? Naturally my charger currently has the UK plug style so I'll need to get a converter if necessary.

Their own website doesn't mention about the power and their support lines cost 3Euro just to connect the call, so I thought I'd ask here on the off-chance somebody has flown recently.


Regards :ok:

dont know Finnair , but standard Airbus\Boeing fit is US standard 115v plug. some operators have different ones on seats but crew may carry adaptors for pax use.

I might be wrong, but .... for a socket to be defined as being a 'USB socket' it needs to conform to certain standards ... physical size, pin connections, and power supply, etc.

I'm sure that the Finnair USB socket will be able to supply enough power to charge your iphone. In 2012 I flew with Emirates to/from the far east via Dubai, and 3 of the 4 flights were equipped with USB connectors in the seat-back screen system. I used the socket to re-charge my MP3 player and my phone, and to keep my phone charged while my GPS tracker was running.

A USB socket is a USB socket and they are the same the world over, no adaptors needed, plug it in and away you go. An ipod charger uses next to no current, so you will be able to charge away to your hearts content. I know that aircraft A/C power supplies are usually done by an Inverter, which wont have a massive amount of output, but they will power most things like Laptops, phone chargers etc, it may struggle with a vacuum cleaner, unless you have OCD, then i don't think you will be taking a vacuum cleaner with you anyway. The sockets on the aircraft will probably be labelled up telling you what you can and cant plug in, similar to what they have on high speed trains etc. If you did overload the circuit, it would just trip the inverter off, so you cant break anything even if you tried, this may result in a few peed off people though!

Cheers........H

How I wish it were true that all USB is USB.

Many Android devices (all of mine) only do memory through USB. No printers, dongles or even card readers. Various routers had USB sockets, power only.

For the OP, the only thing that USB has done regularly for me is charge stuff. Even then, not all. Does anybody have any camera that will charge when it's connected to a pc for the purpose of data download? None that I have do. My android pad has to be charge by a power plug, when letting it charge by USB would have been nice!

A little known fact is that USB sockets are current limited, which is why some external hard/optical drives come with a lead that has two large USB plugs on one end and a single mini or micro on the other. Whatever the device, you'll get a faster charge using one of these cables. You do need two sockets though.

Good point, i was only considering the OP's requirement to charge his iPhone and that a USB plug will fit a USB socket, but as you rightly say, there are a lot of things that dont charge via USB.

<<A USB socket is a USB socket and they are the same the world ove>>

And mini and micro USB?

howard2107 I'm missing something here. Every jet transport type I've ever flown, starting with the Boeing 707, has had its primary electrical power supplied by 115V three phase AC alternators. Why would they rectify it to DC and back to AC with inverters?

Thanks, all. I thought it would be OK but wanted to check and charge my little battery pack if needed. Looks like I'll be OK!

Cheers.